SEO, Content Marketing, and Social Media: The Best of November 2013

The last few months, it seems like people have spent a lot of time trying to define SEO’s new role in this Google altered landscape of Hummingbird and “Keyword Not Provided.” This month, the conversation has moved to defining content marketing’s new role. Content marketing may or may not be the new journalism or the new SEO, but regardless of its definition, it is an exceedingly important strategy to promote your online business. Bring in social media and SEO and you have the winning trifecta. That’s why we gather up the best SEO, content marketing, and social media articles each month for your convenience. Here are our favorites from November. Enjoy, and if you’re looking for the same great content the rest of the month, don’t forget to check in with us on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.

SEO

Although Google’s search engine algorithms are shrouded in mystery, they are widely accepted as a barometer for gauging the importance of your content on the internet. As a result, a cottage industry has developed that is focused on gaming the rankings to receive favorable placement. However more often than not, “black-hat” SEO tactics do not work. What works is creating quality content that is useful to your reader. Below are five methods for writing content that will do well in search engine rankings.

Do you write a great business blog but struggle for readership? Have you heard of Search Engine Optimization but think it’s too complicated or too time-consuming? This article will dive into the SEO world and leave you still breathing on the far side.

A couple of weeks ago, I spoke at Turkey’s first SEO conference, SEOZone. Since our agency, Ads2people, conducts a large number of on-page audits, from very large and often multilingual corporate sites to regular blogs, I thought it would be helpful to talk about some common on-page pitfalls we see over and over again.

Recently I made a presentation to the Ottawa Chapter of SEMPO (Search Engine Marketing Professionals Organization). A mission statement can provide context and guidance to various people generating online content.Professionals Organization). My talk was based on a previous blog (6 Tips for Online Mastery from Yoda) and focused on developing your organization’s online presence.

As we all know, content is back on top again. The crown of the King/Queen never really went away; we just forgot how important producing killer content was to get people motivated. Instead, we focused on stuff like backlinking, blog or link wheels, and other SEO tactics that once worked but are now the kiss of death.

Not even the best can master every niche. Jay-Z is a business titan. He developed a blueprint so he could achieve the holy grail and ended up building the most expansive business empires I’ve seen in my lifetime. He has ventured into everything, from clothing to video games to sports management.

In August, Google launched a new SERP feature called in-depth articles which feature long-form content about broad search terms. Currently, this block of results appears at the bottom of the SERP and consists of three results, each with an image, title, publisher, and description.

In June I wrote an important blog post, based on the amount of Panda work I help companies with. The post was about the maturing of Panda, and how Google planned to roll out the algorithm update once per month, while taking up to ten days to fully roll out. Google also explained that it will not confirm future Panda updates.

Content Marketing

If you’re a startup struggling to get off the ground or an established business seeking to get a stalled sales pipeline flowing again, there’s a decent chance you could use some content marketing. A recent study from Forbes and IPG Media shows that content helps companies win fans and customers.

Thanks to content marketing, companies finally have a great way to show their individual personality to clients and customers. The problem is, however, that not all companies know how to inject personality into their writing, and often lose credibility while trying. So the question then is how do you write to sound personable, yet still maintain your status as a credible source?

For the first time ever, I am hosting Thanksgiving dinner. In the midst of my scramble to find the best recipes, (lots of scrolling on the Food Network), how to prepare them, (lots of phone calls to mom) and how I’m going to fit my entire family at my kitchen table, it hit me. My Thanksgiving table resembles the Content Marketing Pyramid to a tee (for turkey, that is!).

I’m sure David Letterman has been meaning to use this list on his show. Since he hasn’t yet, however, I’ll take the liberty. Without further ado, here are the top 10 things you’ll never hear good content marketers say: 10.) Yeah, I don’t really give a damn about my target audience.

As a content consumer, I find it very frustrating when a brand is clearly more focused on their needs than mine. More times than not I find myself clicking on an article thanks to an interesting headline, but the content inside fails to deliver the information promised in the title.

Social Media

Pinterest offers a unique platform to business – a way to organically promote products while adding a personal touch through the creation of storyboard to support brand mission. Originally used by individuals as a way to discover and share items of interest, brands discovered a platform rich in active consumers and influencers.

Many Instagram users have been moaning and groaning lately about the emergence of Instagram ads. The select few companies who have been invited by Instagram to participate in the program have seen negative comment after negative comment posted on their advertisements.

Who “owns” social platforms? The user or the platform? The answer is both obvious, and yet not. Clearly the developer of the platform (and its shareholders) own the business and its intellectual property. Deciding who owns the experience is a wee bit harder. Without the engaged users, there is no experience.

Work never seems to slow down during the holiday season, but the amount of time you have to spend on work certainly does. For those who work in social media regularly as part of their job, the days off during Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s can offer a brief hiatus from sharing content and having online conversations.

Hashtags: Love ‘em or hate ‘em, they’re an integral part of using social media. With reams of content being produced and promoted on social media each and every minute, hashtags provide a simply way to search for specific, topical content.

We’ll finish up this month’s roundup with Matt Cutts answering the question, “How many links should a page have? Is there a limit?”